An Interview With The Toronto-Based Band, GROUNDERS!

Get to know the Toronto-based band, Grounders! Andrew Davis (vocals and guitar), Daniel Busheikin (keyboards), Mike Searle (Bass) and Evan Lewis (guitar) – released their first full-length album in 2015, a collection of dense and intricate pop music under the gauzy veil of krautrock and psychedelia. The collection was called “Coffee & Jam” was mixed by the elusive Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Weaves) and mastered by Gavin Gardiner (The Wooden Sky).

Departing from the dreamy psyche pop of their first album, Grounders’ new tunes see the band veer into dark and unsettling sonic territories, crafting quirky vignettes that reflect their exhaustive touring of North America. Through scraping synths and jangly guitars, Coffee & Jam oozes with self-sabotage, anti-authoritarian rebellion and that twenty-something’s sense of the world passing by.

Grounders has shared the stage with Alvvays, Born Ruffians, Nap Eyes, Diet Cig, Widowspeak and more. They’ve played festivals including SXSW, CMJ, NXNE, CMW, Sled Island, Rifflandia, Tomorrow Never Knows, and others. Also their music has appeared on the soundtrack of the homoerotic indie game Rinse And Repeat and has been played for the studio audience of The Price Is Right. Drew Carey is a fan.

Learn more about Grounders in the following All Access interview:

What is one song that you are loving right now?

Mellow Man Ace – Hip Hop Creature

What is a song that you all disagree about loving right now?

-We never disagree…but last week Ev put on Gino Vanelli Wild Horses and I hurled.

How has 2018 been treating you all so far?

-Good. Went to the Bahamas, ate some shellfish.

Can you recall the moment when you all thought you could be in a band together?

-Our first tour was really significant to us figuring out we could share beds together and that we had the same lust for drink tickets. We’re all buds. It’s easy being in a band with your bfs.

Was it hard to come up with a name that you all thought fit your sound and who you are? How did you pick this one?

-Searle picked the name.

At the end of this month you will be putting out your new album “Coffee & Jam.” What was it like putting this collection together?

-These songs have strong geographical ties. We were being road dogs living the road dog lifestyle.  We wrote most of this album while we we had some time off in Calgary and Northern California during a six week tour.

I understand that “Coffee & Jam” takes on a very different sound for Grounders in that it is a lot less dreamy psyche pop then your previous collection. Was that conscious change that you all set out to make on this new album?

We wanted to work in a different way. There’s a lot less layers.

While this may be difficult, can you pick out a few of your favorite songs from this new album and talk about how they came to be on this album?

Mickey Can’t Move is a fav. We recorded the beds one day and then another day I busted out my Roland 505 and skrunked it up with some auto wah. Now it’s phunky.

Generally, how do you guys go about putting a song together? Do you work separately or together?

Usually I bring in some rough progression of a song and everyone adds to it then I drink a butt load of coffee and write lyrics and when I’m done I treat myself to a mint julep.

I love that in your press materials, it was noted that your music has been played for the studio audience of The Price Is Right and that Drew Carey is a fan of your songs. So I must ask how did that happened?!

We waited in line for 6 hours and saw a drunk bachelorette party get kicked out. When we finally got in and Mr. Carey was doing some crowd work and asked where we from and what we were doing in town and then got someone to play one of our songs over the loudspeakers.

What has been a favorite recent gig for this band?

We played in Sarnia 2 months ago. It was near a casino and the docks. Play a little craps go fishin for carp you got yourself a good show.

Who are some of your favorite artists right now?

Shawty Pimp & Sleepy La Beef